A well-taken brace from Bobby Scott meant that AFC Portchester cruised through to the next round of the FA Vase against Tadley Calleva on Saturday.

Two smart finishes in either half from Scott and a wonderful solo goal from Baldacchino was the difference between the two sides down at The Blanchard Wells Stadium.

It was almost the dream start for the royals in the 3rd minute, as Gary Moody rose highest in the box but did not get enough contact on a dangerous Steve Ramsey corner.

Ian Saunders’ side clearly wanted to pressure Tadley Calleva from the off, with a lot of chances early on coming from the left hand side via the width and direct approach of Dale Mason.

In the 8th minute that man Mason created an opening by cleverly jinking inside onto his right foot, but his ambitious curling effort from 20 yards was well held by Greene in the Tadley net.

A constant feature of the game was the control and presence that Joe Bye and Steve Ramsey provided in the Royals central midfield. The latter attempted a trademark long shot in the 25th minute but it went well wide.

The away side’s first real chance of the game arrived in the 27th minute but their attempted counter attack was swept up expertly by goalkeeper Lewis Noice.

And after their first attacking promise of the game Tadley were instantly made to pay as Portchester broke down the other end and opened the scoring. 1-0.

Bobby Scott was the man to break the deadlock after the versatile Robbie Evans found himself in space out wide, and delivered a pin point cross to his appreciative striker.

Scott who constantly took up very clever striking positions throughout the game almost scored another within a matter of minutes. The royals number 9 looping a smart header over the keeper in the 32nd minute, only to see it dramatically cleared off the line by a recovering defender.

Tadley had a rare chance to level the game in the 36th minute as right-winger Sam Hamilton broke through one on one with Noice, but the keeper once again came out well and saved.

In the 40th minute the royals doubled their lead as Baldacchino produced a magical moment. The forward received the ball to feet and proceeded to turn well and dance around three Tadley defenders, before calmly stroking the ball into the far corner. 2-0.

Half Time: AFC Portchester 2-0 Tadley Calleva FC

Josh Warren and Nathan Kirby looked a formidable partnership at the back for the royals, and the former showed great composure early in the second half to defuse a Tadley attack.

After a bright first half Mason saw a lot less of the ball in the second, however he showed great skill in the 53rd minute to take the ball out the sky and find Scott on his inside. Unfortunately the striker could not find the target to complete his hat-trick.

In the 67th minute Baldacchino had a chance to get his second and his side’s third goal, but he poked an effort wide from a difficult angle.

The best move of the game came for Portchester in the 70th minute with one touch passing moves including Baldacchino and Scott finalised in the ball arriving to Ramsey 18 yards out. However the central midfielder could not capitalise.

Tadley Cavella had a big shout for a penalty in the 76th minute as their marauding left back was allegedly taken down in the box, however the referee waved the appeals away.

The first change for the home side was not until the 80th minute as Andy Todd came on for Baldacchino. During his brief spell on the pitch the big striker impressed and used his presence to manage the game.

The final blow came with one of the last kicks of the game, Scott grabbing his second goal as he volleyed in emphatically from a looping Ramsey Cross. 3-0.

Full Time: AFC Portchester 3-0 Tadley Cavella FC

Yet another solid defensive team performance takes Ian Saunders side to five clean sheets in their past eight fixtures, he spoke after the game;

“I was particularly happy with the first 45 minutes, I thought the boys were really at it”“Fair play to Tadley, I thought they improved in the second half and changed their game. They are a good side and I’m confident they will get promoted this year from div one”“Its always nice when both your forwards score, they did their job today. And I thought Joe (Bye) and Steve Ramsey did really well in central midfield, keeping the ball moving and looking very good together”“I’m very happy with our clean sheet record at the start of this season, as keeping a clean sheet gives you something to build on and we always look like we could nick a goal”“The goal from Chino (Baldacchino) is a typical Chino goal that’s what he does, he either gets a half turn and puts it in the top corner or goes past three and puts it in the bottom corner”“I’m very happy for him (Baldacchino) as he has had a tough start to the season and has had trouble with his ankle. It was good for him to get a goal”“We are very happy to still be in the draw and as always we will be hoping for a home fixture in the next round”

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